India, Aug. 12 -- As the second half of the World Test Championship's (WTC) fourth edition gets rolling, the jury is still out on whether it has left Test cricket in a better place. For all its faults, what however can't be denied is that the nine-team WTC arrangement has helped Test cricket survive the surfeit of T20.

After strong criticism of the lopsided playing roster, the cricket ecosystem has come to terms with the reality that only the better-off cricket boards will be able to host more Test cricket.

It was reasoned that current champions South Africa earning a shot at the title after playing a bare minimum of 12 Tests was less than ideal from a competition standpoint. That said, if cricket boards were forced to take on more Test...